Ant Keeping ForumThe study of Ants and their habitat, conservation, study and enjoyment. The friendliest ant keeping forum on the web.2019-01-15T11:13:57http://antkeepingforum.com/feed.php2019-01-15T11:13:572019-01-15T11:13:57http://antkeepingforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=1366&p=25658#p25658thanks.

]]>2018-12-14T12:55:152018-12-14T12:55:15http://antkeepingforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=4034&p=25424#p25424Here's my port, it has 14/18mm tubing - you just need to put the end of the tubing into some hot water so it gets flexible and wobbly, then you can push it into the port without too much hassle.

They are of similar design to the AC hybrids but better in any aspect (they actually have screws to keep the lid in place and proper ports), also low shipping costs (none if your order is above 100€) and suitable for almost every species. And you can plug multiple of them together with small pieces of tubing which also allows you to chain up the heating cable holder modules so that a standard 15Watt heating cable can warm up to four nests.

Here's some pics of my Camponotus barbaricus living in those nests (I painted the bottom of the nests with a thin layer of sand-clay mix):

]]>2018-12-14T12:25:002018-12-14T12:25:00http://antkeepingforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=4054&p=25421#p25421Colonies of this species will lay 2 times per year, once in the spring (these larvae develop into workers until/during summer) and once during summer (these larvae will hibernate and develop to workers next spring).They run on an internal clock and there is nothing you can do about it, heating them is not recommended as it only reduces their activity period.

(When the colony gets larger these egg packages will become much much bigger but the general pattern remains.)

]]>2018-12-14T12:14:002018-12-14T12:14:00http://antkeepingforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=4073&p=25420#p25420Carrion-eating beetles species are really the best you can get, any ant species that eats flesh will be far far more problematic.

Edit: Theoretically you could put the bones into a container (make sure coyotees or whatever big predators live in your area can't drag it away) and dump it on top of a fire ant nest. I'm not sure how well that works but in theory the ants should be able to dismantle any flesh from the bones within maybe a week. You can then drag the container away from the nest, spill some boiling water over it (to kill the remaining ants) and should be left with just the bones.In theory this should work but no guarantees - I'd test it with some small bones before going all in.

]]>2018-12-14T12:03:552018-12-14T12:03:55http://antkeepingforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=4076&p=25418#p25418https://discordapp.com/invite/qrAqPAQ or the forums of Formiculture here: http://www.Formiculture.com.

]]>2018-12-13T22:57:542018-12-13T22:57:54http://antkeepingforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=4076&p=25417#p25417I'm a totally new beginner to ant keeping although I have been thinking about it for years. My Pheidole pallidula Queen and about fifteen workers arrived today and here's hoping they will settle in ok. I look forward to learning from the forum and welcome any advice.JohnUK.